


Crime of Passion

by SkyRose



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, M/M, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Season/Series 02, Rating May Change, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 16:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12634521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyRose/pseuds/SkyRose
Summary: Things in Hawkins, Indiana never seem to stay quiet for long.Or: Steve and Billy are thrown into a murder investigation. They learn a lot about each other along the way.





	Crime of Passion

**Author's Note:**

> Wooooo here we go! I'd like to thank all the lovely folks on tumblr that encouraged me to write more harringrove, as well as those who left all the kudos and comments on the previous harringrove fic I wrote. I'm glad so many like this ship! 
> 
> This chapter is mostly set up, I promise future chapters will be longer! 
> 
> This fic does involve a murder mystery, which means minor character death and some mentions of blood. Just a heads up!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Dec. 31, 1985**

_“Five!”_

Steve sat next to the Dustin, shouting excitedly with the kids.

_“Four!”_

He noticed Nancy and Jonathan standing not far from him.

_“Three!”_

She had her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

_“Two!”_

Their faces were close.

_“One!”_

Steve looked away just in time to not see Nancy and Jonathan kissed. He turned to Dustin for a high-five.

_“Happy New Year!”_

Steve smiled despite the way his stomach flipped. Dustin, Mike, and Will continued to exclaim as they victoriously chugged root beer. Steve smirked when he saw Max and Lucas sneaking out into the backyard. Kids.

The only thing that really could be thought about the holiday was _thank god this year’s over._ It had been a rough couple a months. Some reasons the year was absolute hell were life-threatening situations in which Steve had to protect four children. Others were selfish. Steve gave Nancy and Jonathan a glance. Yeah, still kissing.

Steve decided he needed to piss. While in the bathroom, he enjoyed a peaceful moment away for the noise. Steve was washing his hands when someone knocked on the bathroom door.

“El? Are you in there?” a voice called on the other side of the door. Steve opened it to find a worried Mike. “Oh. My bad, Steve.” He rushed off, leaving Steve with no explanation. Steve rarely saw Eleven. She was only allowed at Hopper’s place and occasionally the Byers’ house, which had become the kids new hangout spot instead of the Wheeler’s.

Steve returned to the living room to find Joyce and Hopper were drinking cheap champagne and Dustin was trying to keep Will awake. He was contemplating leaving or just going outside for a smoke when he heard a loud engine approaching the house. As he pulled a cigarette and his lighter from his pocket, he slipped out the front door.

“Ain’t this a familiar sight!” Billy shouted, his head stuck out of his Camaro’s window.

“If you’re lookin’ for another fight I think you should know that Chief is inside,” Steve said with his mouth around his cigarette.

Billy exited his car with a harsh slam of the door. “Eh, fuck ‘em. But I’m not looking for a fight, where’s Maxine?”

Steve recalled when he last saw her, then grinned. “I think her and Lucas are out back. In the shed.”

“Great! Really fucking great!” Billy exclaimed as he headed towards the backyard. Steve felt obligated to make sure the idiot didn’t do anything to Lucas. He jogged to catch up with Billy while still keeping a safe distance from him. Billy started to shout his step-sister’s name, “Max!” He pounded on the shed’s front door. “Open up, shithead!” Steve snorted at the insult. Billy glared at him. “Your face is getting more punchable by the second, Harrington.”

“Cool. Still a cop twenty feet away,” Steve reminded him.

“Go away!” Max shouted from in the shed. “I’m not opening this door until you’re gone!”

Billy smacked the door again. “Opening the fucking door!” With no response, Billy hurried around the corner of it. Steve followed him. “Is there a window?”

“I don’t think so,” Steve replied. “Go back to your car. I’ll get them out.”

“Would you fucking shut your mouth? I don’t want your damn help,” Billy stated as he stopped behind the back side of the shed. He lifted his foot than slammed into the wall.

“Dude, what the hell?” Steve asked as Billy continued to kick the wall. Max screamed inside causing Steve to grab Billy by the shoulders and shove him backwards. Billy stumbled into a tree, saving him from a fall to the ground. His hands clenched into fists as he pushed himself off the tree and marched toward Steve. “Hargrove! Stay the fuck back!” Billy’s next kick wasn’t into the wall but into Steve’s shin. Steve winced and prepared himself for a hard punch. Billy and Steve froze at the sound of the shed door slamming open. They watched as the two teens sprinted for dear life towards the house. Max chucked an empty beer bottle toward Billy. It fell short, the bottle finding itself stuck in the snow.

“See, they were only drinking,” Steve said, picking up the bottle. Billy’s attention was snapped back to Steve. With all his strength, Billy shoved Steve. Steve grabbed Billy’s arm in an attempt to stay upright causing them both to fall to the ground. “You fucking—”

Steve was cut off by the ground underneath them suddenly disappear. They fell again, Steve’s groaning when Billy landed on top of him. When Steve opened his opened his eyes, he almost didn’t believe what he had saw. Him and Billy had fallen into the tunnels underneath all of Hawkins. The dark, dank, moist tunnels. It didn’t make sense. They had been assured that the tunnels were going to be taken care of.

Billy rolled off of Steve and sat up. He squinted into the darkness. “What the fuck just happened?”

Steve looked up at the hole above them. “We fell into a hole,” he replied dryly.

“No shit,” Billy said as he looked around. The tunnels had mostly dried out but still had gross gunk everywhere. “It looks like it—”

Steve stopped listening to whatever Billy was saying when he heard movement from somewhere in the tunnels. “Help me out,” he blurted immediately. There was no way there was a demodog down here, right? Billy didn’t make any sort of move to suggest he heard Steve’s request. “C’mon, Hargrove. We shouldn’t be down here.” Billy _did_ hear that. His eyes snapped to Steve.

“Why not?” Billy demanded.

“What if it’s… a bear cave or something?” Steve lied, hoping it was convincing.

“A bear cave,” Billy repeated. “Yeah, sound like bullshit to me.”

“Alright, you got me. It’s a sinkhole. It’s common ‘round here,” Steve claimed with more confidence. “They’re dangerous, we should get out while we still can.” Billy watched him silently as Steve stood up under the opening.

“You better not be lying to me,” Billy grumbled before hoisting Steve up. Steve had a hard time gripping the icy, snow-covered ground. By the time he was up, his fingers were numb from the snow.

“Here,” Steve said as a reached his hand down for Billy to grab hold of. Billy locked his eyes onto Steve’s as he grabbed the hand. Steve gripped Billy’s hand tightly as he pulled him up. Once Billy was standing on level ground, he scanned Steve’s expression.

“Consider yourself lucky,” Billy stated as he began to march away, his shoulder colliding with Steve’s.

“Why thank you for not punching my face!” Steve exclaimed. Billy flipped him off. Steve didn’t bother to follow him. He listened to the Hargrove siblings argue for a moment before the Camaro sped off into the night.  
Steve went back inside the Byers’ house. Dustin and Will were both asleep on the couch. Lucas and Will were speaking to each other in harsh whispers. Joyce was cleaning in the kitchen. Hopper was finishing off a bottle of beer.

“I hope you’re not planning on driving,” Steve commented.

“What kinda cop would I be if I was?” Hopper laughed.

“We, uh, have a situation in the backyard,” Steve informed.

“What kind of situation?” Hopper asked.

“It’s best if I show you.”

**Jan. 2, 1986**

Steve had slept through most of New Year's Day. When the first day of high school since the start of holiday break rolled around the next day, he was up earlier than usually. He took the opportunity to stop into the police station to chat with Hopper.

“Hello, Steven,” Florence greeted when he walked in. “How can I help you?”

“Is Hopper in?” he asked, putting on a bright smile for her.

“In his office, knock before you enter.”

Steve did as she told, loudly knock three times before opening the office door. Hopper was talking on the phone with someone when Steve wandered in.

“Yeah, I’ll handle it,” Hopper said before pausing to listen to the person on the other side of the phone. He was pinching the bridge of his nose as he listened. “I said I’ll handle it. Goodbye.” Another pause. “Good. Bye.” Hopper hung up the phone and inspected Steve.

“Good morning,” Steve announced, breaking the awkward silence.

“What do you want, kid?” Hopper questioned.

“Stressful morning?”

“And night. Are you here to annoy me?”

“No, no! I was wondering if you got any information on the, uh, vines?” Steve asked.

Hopper’s eyes widened at the mention of the tunnels. “Right! Sorry, Steve, it’s been unusually busy today. Holiday season and all. I called up Dr. Owens, big guy over at the Labs. He said it’s taking longer than they expected to fill all the tunnels. It’s not exactly a stealthy process.”

Steve nodded. “Okay, make senses. What do I tell Hargrove?”

“What do you already tell him? Something about a sinkhole? Stick with that,” Hopper answered. “He’ll probably think he was high and imagined it, anyway.”

Steve laughed at that. “Sounds good, Chief.” He thought for a moment, trying to recall if he had any other questions for Hopper. “Oh, what about the sounds I heard?”

“Well, you must have been high and imagined it. There wasn’t anyone down there over the holidays. Maybe it was a squirrel? Rabbit?” Hopper stated with a shrug.

“No, it sounded like foo—”

The door swung open to reveal officer Powell. “Chief, we’ve got a break-in at the Hemperley’s.”

Hopper stood up instantly, grabbing his coat. “Alright, Cal,” he sighed. “Get to school, Harrington.”

Steve took his usual detour to Dustin’s before school. He had became Dustin’s ride to school with the cold weather. Mrs. Henderson appreciated it and it gave Steve time to chat with Dustin, which was entertaining and woke up Steve. Dustin tended to have weirdly interesting dreams.

Class that day was boring. Everyone, teachers included, was tired, hungover, or both. There was gossip about who hooked up with who at various New Year’s parties, but Steve wasn’t intrigued. He used to be. Not anymore. Now he hung out with middle schoolers and his ex-girlfriend. And that was it.

“Am I boring?” Steve asked Nancy and Jonathan during lunch.

“What makes you say that?” Nancy questioned back. Jonathan took the distraction opportunity to steal some of her fries.

“I used to be, like, _cool._ Now I’m…” Steve trailed off.

“Steve, you used to be an idiot. Do you remember you’re old friends? Tommy? Carol?” Nancy said.

“You were unbearable,” Jonathan added and Steve frowned at him for it.

“Maybe you should get a new hobby,” Nancy suggested.

Steve nodded slowly, deep in thought. He stared down at his food and didn’t even notice the figure that had walked up to their table until they spoke.

“Harrington.”

Steve’s head snapped up to Billy Hargrove standing next to his chair. Billy grimaced down at him. “Can I help you?” Steve spoke.

“Yeah, actually. Because I could tell you were lying to me yesterday. I have proof too. I asked your weird little friends about it,” Billy explained, pointing to Nancy and Jonathan. “I asked Byers first, because it was behind his house, after. He says him and his brother dug it for _fun._ I wasn’t buying that, so I ask his girl. She says it’s from the toxic shit from the lab place or something. So, either two of you are lying or you all are.”

Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan exchanged nervous glances. “Uh, why do you care so much?” Steve commented.

“Because it was _weird._ You’re _weird._ So are your little friends. This whole goddamn town is fucking weird!” Billy ranted with an accusing finger pointed at Steve. “I want to know why the hell that is!”

“Well, Nancy’s right. It was the chemicals from the Labs that caused erosion underground,” Jonathan stated, causing Billy to turn to him with his piercing eyes.

“Is that so?” Billy remarked, raising an eyebrow at Steve.

“Yeah. What Nancy said,” Steve agreed with a vigorous nod.

Billy narrowed his eyes at the trio. _“Weirdos,”_ he muttered as he strutted away. He didn’t get far before he was stopped by Carol obstructing his path. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He snapped at her, “What do you want?”

“Can I have a ride to police station?” she asked, her voice shaking. “Tommy’s there.” Steve leaned closer to eavesdrop at the mention of police and Tommy.

“Why? Was he driving drunk again?” Billy replied with a chuckle. Which was a fair assumption, especially after the holidays.

Carol shook her head. Her blue eyes seemed to near on tears. “No, Billy, shut up! His…” she paused to lower her voice. “His dad was murdered.”

Billy crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you fucking with me?” he said with a tense voice.

“No, please, let’s go!” Carol tugged on Billy’s jacket. The two rushed out of the school, Steve watching and listening intently as they went. He turned to Nancy and Jonathan, who were staring at each other in shock.

“I hate to say it, but Billy’s right. This town is weird,” Steve said, blankly staring down at his food.

**Jan. 3, 1986**

The story was front page of the local newspaper the next day. _Hawkins man murdered in his own house early yesterday morning, killer unknown._ He was stabbed to death. Pretty brutal. The police didn’t have many leads yet.

Steve was very surprised to see Tommy when he arrived at the gym for basketball practice. He hadn’t been in class that day. Which was fine, his dad died. Was killed, apparently. Tommy was a dick most of the time but Steve still felt bad. No one would have blamed him if he had skipped practice. Someone suggested this to Tommy, who shrugged and said, “I wanted to get out of the house.”

Tommy was angry. He played rough and hard and said little. It was odd, Tommy typically cracked jokes constantly and didn’t take practice seriously. But it was understandable today. He needed to focus on something. Basketball, in this case.

Towards the end of practice, Steve got pushed by Tommy into Billy, who shoved him away hard. “Fuck off, Harrington,” Billy cursed.

“It was an accident, asshole,” Steve argued back, no longer in the game.

Coach blew his whistle. “Harrington, Hargrove, I want twenty laps and then put away everything!” he ordered. The two of them shouted in dismay at him but still started running. The rest of the team hurried into the locker room, slapping the boys on the back and laughing at their misery.

Steve and Billy stopped running as soon as their coach left the gymnasium. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Harrington,” Billy said in between deep breathes. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Steve could see the sweat dripping from his hair and onto his chest.

“Oh yeah, why’s that?” Steve asked as he leaned against the wall.

“You and your friends are full of shit,” Billy accused. “I asked Carol and Nicole about any holes caused by the chemical shit. They looked at me like I was nuts, like I was you, Byers, or Wheeler. I even asked a cop yesterday. Nothing! So what the hell, Harrington?”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Steve answered honestly and giving no further explanation. He did jokingly add, “Detective Hargrove.”

Billy rolled his eyes at him. “Fuck off. You’re weird.”

“Yeah, but in a good way,” Steve agreed with a grin.

“No, in a spends too much time with kids way,” Billy informed, looking away from Steve, but Steve still caught the amused smirk on his mouth.

“Asshole punk,” Steve countered as he walked past Billy and toward the basketballs that managed to roll into the corner of the gym.

“Too bad this _asshole punk_ can do a better layup than you,” Billy said as he scooped up a basketball and ran for one of the hoops. He hollered victoriously when the ball swished into the net. Steve ignored Billy’s attempts to get him into a one-on-one game. “King Steve, let’s see your moves.” Billy dribbled the under his legs, not bothering to help Steve’s clean up efforts. He eventually gave up his efforts and headed to the showers. Steve soon followed.

Billy kept to himself in the shower. Steve relaxed under the warm spray. He was exhausted from practice and ready to sleep. He closed his eyes, appreciating the dull moment. He heard Billy turn off his shower and walk over to the lockers. There was a tiled wall that blocked off the showers from the lockers. Steve heard Billy’s voice bounce off it when he swore. Steve’s eyes peaking open to see Billy rush back into the showers, his eyes furious.

“Is this some kinda sick prank?” Billy shouted at Steve as he pinned him to the wall behind him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Steve spat back, trying to wriggle free from Billy’s tight grip on his arms. Billy searched his expression from any hint of dishonesty. His blue eyes were wide and… scared. “What the hell is going on?”

Billy released him and walked back to the lockers, motioning for Steve to follow him. Steve did after turning off the shower. He could have never guessed what he would find.

When Steve rounded the corner of the wall, he found Tommy lying on the damp floor. His backside was facing up. He wasn’t moving. Or breathing. There was a pool of blood surrounding him.

“Tommy?” Steve asked. “This isn’t funny, dude.”

Tommy didn’t reply.

Steve turned to Billy. “Did he fall and bump his head? Where is he bleeding from?”

Billy shrugged. “Should we… flip him over?”

“Uh, sure,” Steve responded. His voice came out ragged. His throat felt dry.

Together, Steve and Billy carefully turned over Tommy. What they found nearly made Steve hurl. Tommy’s throat had been slit. Blood was running fast from the wound, covering his chest.

Steve looked up at Billy, who was pale and shellshocked. Billy eventually met his eyes and said, _“What the fuck.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, premise down. Leave a kudos or a comment if you're excited for more! I know billy and steve were very much enemies in this chapter, but it will change soon. Next chapter will be longer, I usually like to go for 5k word chapters. Not sure why I think it's a good length. Stop by my tumblr [@skywalkertvvins](http://skywalkertvvins.tumblr.com/) to chat about harringrove, stranger things, or whatever really. Maybe even volunteer to be a beta for this fic? You'd get to read new chapters before everyone else! Enough of my rambling, talk to you guys next chapter!


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